I am the Clone of a Death Row Inmate

Chapter 473: Chapter 313: The Spaceship’s Central Treasure Vault

Gu Chengguang acted quickly.

The news of Zhang Tai becoming a Saint-level Hegemon had graced the front-page headlines of every major news website for a mere half a day before it was supplanted by an even more monumental story.

"General Su Ze Completes Fifth Evolution, Ascends to Venerable!"

"Su Ze: Dongli’s Number One!"

"A Once-in-a-Millennium Genius—Su Ze!"

In an instant, the entire Dongli Kingdom was in an uproar!

The citizens of Dongli spread the news with great excitement. In no time at all, word of mouth had ensured everyone in the kingdom knew.

A Venerable Powerhouse... What did that even mean?

Previously, none of the six nations had ever had a native-born Venerable Powerhouse.

Any powerhouse who showed the potential to reach the Venerable rank would be recruited by the Sovereign Country beforehand.

With Su Ze, a Venerable Powerhouse, on their side, Dongli’s apparent strength was now indisputably the greatest among the five nations.

In reality, by past convention, the Sovereign Country would never have allowed a Venerable Powerhouse to exist within the six nations, as it would disrupt the balance of power among them.

Therefore, under normal circumstances, even if one of the six nations did manage to produce a homegrown Venerable Powerhouse, they would be conscripted into the Sovereign Country.

However, these were special times. Within the Sovereign Country’s leadership, the Alien Party and the Blue Star Party were locked in a fierce struggle. Naturally, high-ranking members of the Blue Star Party like Mr. Ke and Chen Suifeng would help Su Ze withstand the pressure, preventing him from being conscripted.

The citizens of the Dongli Kingdom were unaware of these internal politics. All they knew was that having a legendary Venerable Powerhouse watching over Dongli gave them an exceptional sense of security.

It also instilled a sense of pride... ’The other four nations don’t have a Venerable Powerhouse, but we in Dongli do!’

The recent Great Beast Tide and the fall of the Peninsula Country had inevitably sparked panic among the people of Dongli. But now, Su Ze’s ascension to Venerable Powerhouse was like a powerful shot in the arm for them.

Gu Chengguang spared no effort in promoting Su Ze, openly calling him "Dongli’s Number One" and "Dongli’s Strongest Powerhouse" in news reports. He wasn’t concerned that Su Ze might threaten his own position as Dongli’s top leader.

Of course, Su Ze had no interest in vying for power. To him, personal strength was the only thing that mattered.

If Su Ze had shown the slightest inclination to contend for power, Gu Chengguang would have likely abdicated in his favor without a second thought. In fact, he would have been ecstatic.

Gu Chengguang had always been looking for ways to strengthen the bond between Dongli and Su Ze. After all, Su Ze wasn’t a native of the kingdom.

If Su Ze took the highest seat of power in Dongli, he would be truly and deeply bound to the kingdom.

The news of Su Ze becoming a Venerable wasn’t just a hot topic in Dongli; it quickly spread abroad as well.

This was largely thanks to the many Dongli internet users who flocked to international forums to brag, ’We have a Venerable Powerhouse, do you?’

In response, internet users from the Ancient An Country, Mu Country, Luofan Country, and the Great Desert Kingdom could only be filled with envy and jealousy.

The incident also caught the attention of users in Lin Hua Country. However, in Lin Hua, while Venerable Powerhouses weren’t exactly common, there were more than you could count on two hands. What truly shocked them was Su Ze’s age upon reaching that rank—a mere eighteen years old!

This represented limitless potential. It was no exaggeration to say that as long as Su Ze didn’t meet an untimely end and continued to grow, he was one hundred percent guaranteed to advance to the Legend rank in the future, becoming one of Blue Star’s top combatants.

That evening, households across Dongli hung lanterns and decorations, celebrating as if it were the New Year.

The entire kingdom of Dongli was abuzz with celebration for their new Venerable-level Guardian God. No one even remembered Zhang Tai, Dongli’s other newly-minted Guardian God.

Zhang Tai felt a pang of bitterness. ’This morning, all of Dongli was celebrating me,’ he thought. ’By the afternoon, I was completely forgotten.’

’How can a firefly’s glow compare to the bright moon?’

Zhang Tai came to terms with it. ’At least I’m still the second-hottest trending topic.’

However, when Zhang Tai checked his phone the next day, he saw he had already dropped to third on the trending list.

The number two trending topic was: "Evolution Divine Teachings Imprisons and Murders Peninsula Country Refugees"!

Zhang Tai was horrified. Just yesterday in Gu Chengguang’s office, after Su Ze had left, Gu Chengguang had told him the secret of the Nian Race’s invasion.

When he saw the trending topic, his first thought was that the Blue Star Party had leaked evidence of the Evolution Divine Teachings’ crimes.

But when he clicked on it, he realized that wasn’t the case.

It turned out that the group of refugees Su Ze had previously rescued from an Evolution Divine Teachings stronghold were now speaking out online.

Su Ze had escorted them to Vita City. Many of them had started live-streaming as it happened, attracting attention from internet users across various countries. They used these live streams to tell their stories.

Despite the Luofan Country’s government doing everything in its power to suppress the story, it had been brewing for two days. The news spread like wildfire, growing into a major incident until it hit the trending topics in multiple countries today.

Currently, only the Luofan Country and the Mu Country were still actively suppressing all related news.

Meanwhile, the internet in the other countries had already exploded, with a storm of condemnation directed at the Evolution Divine Teachings.

And in the Mu Country, the remaining refugees from the Peninsula Country launched massive protest marches, demanding an explanation from both the Mu Country government and the Evolution Divine Teachings.

The Peninsula Country may no longer exist, but its people hadn’t all been wiped out.

Only a minority of the Peninsula Country’s population had died in the Great Beast Tide; the vast majority of its citizens had survived.

Crucially, the Peninsula Country’s high-level combatants had suffered minimal losses. United, these evolvers still represented a force to be reckoned with.

...

The online outcry against the Evolution Divine Teachings grew louder and louder, and Su Ze naturally heard the news. He suspected that the higher-ups in the Blue Star Party, like Chen Suifeng, wouldn’t let this golden opportunity slip by. ’They’ll probably use this momentum to release all kinds of evidence of the Evolution Divine Teachings’ crimes, pushing the hype and impact of this whole affair to its peak.’